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Fort Myers man serving 60 years in prison for tablespoon of cocaine has shot at commutation

Sentenced to what amounted to life in prison for one tablespoon of cocaine, Michael Edwards will get an opportunity become a free man.

The Fort Myers man's family was notified Thursday by Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried's office that Edwards will be on the April 8 clemency board hearing. Fried sits on the state's clemency board along with Gov. Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Mood and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis.

Mimi Edwards-Beach, Michael's sister, said she was on the phone with him when she found an email from Fried's Cabinet Director Kyle Troop in her inbox.

Michael Edwards before he was sentenced to 60 years in prison.(Photo: Submitted)

"I was barely able to get the words out," Edwards-Beach said as she started to cry. "We have been waiting for this day and finally we have some confirmation that this is going to be happening."

Edwards-Beach shared a copy of the email with News-Press to confirm the sequence of events.

Edwards was sentenced to 60 years in prison in 1994 after being convicted of selling cocaine to his ex-girlfriend.

The state offered him a 15-year prison sentence in exchange for a guilty plea but Edwards chose go to trial. After being convicted, he received the 60-year sentence as a result of being a three-striker. He had previously been convicted twice of drug offenses.

The fight for Edwards' release has gained steam over the past 14 years, including gaining the support of the state attorney's office that prosecuted him.

Former State Attorney Joseph D'Alessandro and current Assistant State Attorney Cynthia Ross have advocated for release. State Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen also wrote a letter to DeSantis last year in support of expediting the review of Edwards' case.

Fried recently invoked a clemency board rule that allows board members to put a case on an upcoming agenda. After doing so, investigators visited Edwards for an interview, which was recorded and transcribed for board members to review.

While Edwards will not be physically at the hearing, which is held in Tallahassee, his family and friends are ready to be there, if necessary.

Edwards suffered through depression in his first few years behind bars, but he told The News-Press that he's grown and taken responsibility for his actions.

Since then, he's been a model prisoner and taken advantage of every self-improvement opportunity available to him.

"Given all that I've been through these past 27 years, I have definitively learned my lesson and will be a productive, law-abiding, positive member of our community when released," Edwards said. "I will not let down all the people who have been fighting for my release. I'm going to make everyone proud of supporting my commutation effort. I promise you that."